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GRIFFITH
family, of
Cefn Amwlch
,
Penllech
,
Llŷn
.

This family claimed descent from
Rhys ap Tewdwr Mawr
,
prince of Deheubarth
, through
Trahaearn Goch
,
lord of Cymydmaen
. Associations with
Penllech
can be traced back to the early years of the
14th cent.
, but the first of the family to be definitely described as of
Cefn Amwlch
is one
DafyddFychan
who was alive in
1481
. Suspected of recusancy during the years
1577-1581
, and strongly antagonistic to the
earl of Leicester
's designs on the
Forest of Snowdon
, the
Griffiths
played no major part in county administration until
1589
, when
GRIFFITH AP
JOHN
GRIFFITH
was picked as
sheriff
in that year.
Griffith
d. and was buried at
Oxford
in
1599
, leaving as heir to the estate,
JOHN
GRIFFITH
I
, who was
sheriff
in
1604
and
M.P.
for
Caernarvon
from
1604
to
1609
, when he d. Another son,
EdmundGriffith
I
, became
dean of Bangor
in
1613
and was promoted to the bishopric in
1633
.

It was during the lifetime of
JOHN
GRIFFITH
I
and particularly of his son,
JOHN
GRIFFITH
II
, that the star of
Cefn Amwlch
rose to the ascendant with the successful challenging of the supremacy of the
Wynns
of
Gwydir
and their allies in
Caernarvonshire
. A graduate (
1609
) of
Brasenose College
,
Oxford
, and afterwards a student at
Lincoln's Inn
,
JohnGriffith
the younger chose the
law
as his career, and was soon making a name for himself in the
London courts
as ‘a busy
solicitor of causes
.’ Marriage with
Margaret
, daughter of
SirRichardTrevor
of
Trevalun
, whose wife had important court connections, and a close friendship with the
earl of Northampton
,
lord president of the council of the Marches
, helped to further his career, which reached its peak in
1620
, when, after a stormy campaign, he defeated
SirRichardWynn
of
Gwydir
in the county election of that year. This triumph, marking a decisive stage in the long and bitter feud with the
Wynns
, was followed by another in
1622
, when
Griffith
obtained the
constableship of Caernarvon castle
, and by others again in
1626
and
1628
, when he was returned for the second and third times as
M.P.
for
Caernarvonshire
. He also succeeded his father-in-law,
Trevor
, as
vice admiral of North Wales
in
1626
. In
Parliament
he showed himself an ardent satellite of the
duke of Buckingham
, and was ‘much troubled’ at his death, having spent
‘most of his substance in his service and had nothing but fair promises of preferment.’
Returned to
Westminster
for the fourth time in
1640
, now as member for
Beaumaris
,
Griffith
appears to have left the
House
by the
Autumn of 1642
to join
kingCharles
at
Oxford
, and it was there that he d. in
July 1643
, apparently of the
plague
. His younger brother,
EDMUND
GRIFFITH
II
, was a successful
cloth merchant
in
London
, and d.
before 1660
at
Stoke Poges, Bucks.
; while another brother,
OWEN
GRIFFITH
, who d. in
1671
, was a
king's attorney
.

The heir to
Cefn Amwlch
was
John
II
's son,
JOHN
GRIFFITH
III
, known to his boon companions as ‘
prince Griffith
,’ and somewhat of a stormy petrel. He took part in the
Ile de Rhé expedition
of
1627
, and was one of the first to bring home news of its impending failure.
1640
saw his election as
M.P.
for
Caernarvonshire
, but two years later he was expelled by the
House
for an alleged ‘wicked assault’ on
ladyElizabethSedley
. For the next six years he was continually in trouble, and finally in
1648
, convicted of murder by a
Cheshire coroner's jury
, he fled to
France
to escape his fate, and d.
before 1650
, unmarried, in
Paris
.

Thereupon
Cefn Amwlch
came to his brother
WILLIAM
GRIFFITH
I
, who at one time had had aspirations to a high legal post in the city of
London
. A staunch
churchman
and
Cavalier
, he was a man of some consequence in post-Restoration
Caernarvonshire
, being made
sheriff
in
1661
. His death, in
1688
, was preceded in
1687
by that of his son
JOHN
GRIFFITH
IV
, and the estate was left in the hands of their widows, both named
Elizabeth
, the younger of whom, relict of
JohnGriffith
and daughter of
Robert
,
2nd viscount Bulkeley
of
Baron Hill
, being at the time the mother of two infant sons,
William
and
John
.

WILLIAM
GRIFFITH
II
the heir, was
M.P.
for
Caernarvon1708-13
, and for
Caernarvonshire
from
1713
until his death in
March 1714-15
.
JOHN
GRIFFITH
V
, his brother, succeeded him both as
squire
of
Cefn Amwlch
and as
knight of the shire
, and d. in
June 1739
, leaving a son
WILLIAM
GRIFFITH
III
, who m.
SidneyWynne
(
SidneyGriffith
)
of
Voelas
, the celebrated
‘
Madam Griffith
,’
whose name occurs in connection with
HowelHarris
. Their son,
JOHN
GRIFFITH
VI
, who inherited the estate on his father's death in
1752
, was the last of that name, and the last, also, of the
Griffith
line. As a young
lieutenant
he fought in the
battle of Minden
(
1759
), and d., unmarried, in
Dec. 1794
, leaving the
Cefn Amwlch
estate to his cousin
JANE
WYNNE
of
Voelas
, to whom he was greatly devoted. She married the
hon.CharlesFinch
, brother of the
earl of Aylesford
, and eventually both
Cefn Amwlch
and
Voelas
came to their eldest son, who assumed the name of
CHARLES
WYNNE
GRIFFITH
-WYNNE
. An alumnus of
Brasenose College
,
Fellow of
All Souls
, and a student at
Lincoln's Inn
, he was appointed
sheriff
of
Caernarvonshire
in
1814
and of
Denbighshire
in
1815
, served as
M.P.
for
Caernarvonshire
,
1830
, and d. in
1865
. [See further the article
Wynne
(
Wynne-Finch
)
].